There's Only So Much I Can Take
by Tim Johnson
Summary: Meiling's been having it rough lately and an unprecedented pillar of support appears. shoujo-ai. rated for themes
1. It hurts

There's Only So Much I Can Take...Before Breaking Down Into Tears

Hong Meiling, cheerful and optimistic gatekeeper of the Scarlet Devil Mansion... Although she doesn't do her job very well, she does it with a positive can-do attitude, but it changed one fateful day. It all started on a normal day at the mansion, but that was the problem, it was a normal day.

"Ahh! Miss Sakuya! Why are you chasing me with knives again!?"

A typical day at the SDM, the head maid, Sakuya Izayoi punishing Meiling for not performing her duties.

"Because you were sleeping on the job and shirking your duties again!" replied Sakuya as she continued to chase Meiling. Then she hurled one of her knives and impaled Meiling in her foot. She tripped from the lack of balance.

"Ouch! I know that I may have extraordinary healing but that still hurts, you know!"

Sakuya pulled out 8 knives, 4 in each hand.

"Wait, Sakuya! What are you going to do with tose?" Meiling asked in panic.

"Sayonara, China," she told her simply.

"Ah!!! Don't Sakuya! I'm sorry! I just can't help it..." Meiling cried out. Sakuya paused to consider this.

"Why's that?" Sakuya asked the distressed Meiling as she slightly lowered her knives.

"It's because I have a condition called narcolepsy."

"Really? Is that true?"

"Yes, it's true Miss Sakuya. Dr. Eirin said that's what my conditions is called if I repeatedly fall asleep during impromptu times during the day along with dysania and hypersomnia."

"Liar," Sakuya said as she prepared to throw her knives.

"No, Miss Sakuya! Don't..." Meiling pleaded with hands raised as a last feeble attempt to shield herself from the inevitable doom.

And with a devilish smile on her face, she threw her knives into various parts of her body including her arms, legs, chest, and abdomen. Meiling screamed with tears in her eyes before she passed out from the pain of her injuries. There was a total of 9 knives protruding out the unconscious gate guard.

Sakuya went over, picked her knives out of the body, leaned it against the wall, patted her heead, and said, "You better not die on me, _my_ Hong Meiling." Then she went back into the mansion to fetch a first aid kit. When she came back out, she cleaned Meiling's wounds and bandaged them. After that, she went back inside to prepare lunch.

* * *

Disclaimer : i in no way own touhou nor its characters

A/N : kind of an old project which i never got to uploading. secondary character to be added as more chapters are


	2. It sinks in

There's Only So Much I Can Take...Before Tearing Up Inside

Meiling woke up the next day in a daze. She was sore all over from the cuts and incisions she received the previous day. She also realized that she was bandaged up.

"Ow... I really wish the she wouldn't do that to me every day," Meiling said to herself because there was nobody around. She got up from her position on the ground to settle in a nearby chair.

"I know I may seem like a strong person,but even I have my limits. This along with the beatings and whippings, I don't know how much more abuse I can take." Meiling started to tear up, both from the pain and emotions she was experiencing.

"Why does she do this to me? I didn't do anything wrong. I may have fallen asleep every now and then, but it's because of my condition. I don't like oversleeping because I miss the day's sunshine and I regret all the times that I did." The tears started falling harder and harder and she began to sob.

"When I found out about it, I was so happy. Since it wasn't my fault, I thought that Sakuya might stop hurting me, but she didn't believe me." The tears were falling even harder and she developed a sniffle. It started to rain.

"I don't understand human emotions that well. But she was showing signs of hate. Does she hate me? I like her. She is usually such a kind person, but it is almost as if she is only mean to me. I know that I may not be the best worker, but I try my best. The pain hurts so much. Both on the inside and outside. The internal bleeding is troublesome especially when it spills out. I don't know if I can take it anymore..." Her crying echoed through the near-endless rainfall but it could not be heard nor noticed because of the water plaster plastered to her face. Her hair and clothes were soaked. It was as if she was drenched to the bone. Just then. The rain stopped falling on Meiling's head and when she looked up, she saw a green-haired person holding an umbrella over her.

* * *

A/N : identity of green person to be revealed next chapter.


	3. It's not wet

There's Only So Much I Can Take...Before Turning To A Complete Stranger For Comfort

"Huh," Meiling looked up from her crying position.

"You're going to catch a cold if you keep sitting in the rain like that," the green-haired lady said. There was little response from Meiling but she nodded as she wiped her tear-sodden face with her sleeves.

"Here," the stranger offered a handkerchief to Meiling. Meiling gladly took it.

"Maybe we should go inside, it is getting chilly here," the mystery woman pointed out. Meiling shook her head with a solemn look on her face to reject the idea.

"Hmm... Oh I know, why don't you come over to my place? It's not too far away," the stranger offered. Meiling's eyes brightened slightly at the thoughtfulness of this person whome she just met and got up from her sitting position. She shivered because her clothes were soaked and because it was cold.

"Here, hold this," the lady said as she handed the umbrella to Meiling. "Take my vest, you look cold," she removed her vest, which covered a white blouse, handed it to Meiling, and took back the umbrella. Meiling looked at it for a moment, and proceeded to put it on, while responding with a near inaudible, "Thank you."

"Shouldn't you notify someone that you're leaving?" the stranger asked.

"No...nobody would miss me," Meiling replied softly. The unknown person pondered this response for a moment.

"Well, okay. We should probably get going. The rain is starting to fall harder."

"Okay," the distraught Meiling replied. The two of them, then, started walking down the forest path making sure to walk closely together to keep under the umbrella.

"You don't speak much, do you? What is your name?"

"Mei...Meiling," the gate guard choked out.

"Meiling, huh. My name is Yuka. Nice to meet you." Meiling nodded in response as she looked over to the person walking next to her and smiled slightly.

* * *

A/N : 3rd sorry bout the delay


End file.
